Cooker.



A. JOHNSON.

COOKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAF.. 6. 191| Patented Apr. 29,1919.

esi INVENTOR. N

ATTORNEY.

AXEL JOHNSON, 0F 0, CALIFORNIA.

colo.

Specification of Letteis Patent. l Pafqgm'dggdl Apr., 299 LQLQJ;

Application mea aaargh e, 1917. serial no. 152,491.

To all 'whomc't may concern 4 Be it known that Ig/V AXEL JoHNso'N, a citizen of the United States, residing atOakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new andA useful Improven'len-ts in-Cookers, of whic the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a cooker of the type used for giving the iinal cook to canned food products and similar materials. The object of the invention is to provide a cooker in which steam under pressure may be used to supply the heat. In order to do this it is necessary to provide steam-tight valves to control the admission and discharge of the cans, and it is in these valves that the essential features of the present invention lie. By means of said valves, which will be fully described hereinafter, I am/not only enabled to transfer the cans into and out of the cooker with the least possible loss of steam, but the entering cans are at arll times under complete and positive control, so that there is no possibility of a can binding and l form and construction, within the scope of the appended clainnmay be made in the device without departing from the spirit of the invention; and, I therefore wish to be con- Figs. 3 and 4 are v'detailed sectional elev.

tions, enlarged, of the valve mechanism,

taken in the direction 'of the varrows on the line r3--3 and 4-4 respectively of Fig. 2.

In4 the drawings, the reference numeral l designates the body of the cooker, here shown as an inclosed 'tank adapted to contain steam under pressure. The sides of the tank are preferably provided with 'doors 2, Figs. l and 2, through which access may be gained to the interior. Inside the tank are two spaced lineally and vertically disposed frame members 3, one positioned at each side of the tank. These frame members support a series of can conveying tracks, 4a, 4b, 4, 4d, 4e and 4f, formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, of spaced angleA members, upon which the cans may roll and by the vertical flanges of which the cans are guided. In the width of the tank there are four of such tracks and in the height of the tank there are siX tracks, each of the four stacks of six vertically superposed tracks constituting one continuous path for the passage of a: succession of cans through the tank. Each of said can paths'is identical with the others, .so that a description of one will apply equally to all.

ans 5 are introduced into the machine at the right-hand end of the lowermost track 4, in a manner to behereinafter described in detail, and are advanced along said track by conveyer l means also to be described. At the left hand end o f said track 4a, as shown 1n Fig. 1, said track is curved upwardly as shown at 6, and the adjacent end of the track 4b next above is curved downwardly within the upwardly curved lower track 6ar as shown at 61. The cans advancing in the lower track 4 ride upon the curved end portion 6a thereof and are transferred thereby to the downwardly turned end 6b of the second track 4b. The cans are transferred from each of the tracks to the track next above in a Similar manner, each track being similarly upwardly curved at its discharge end and downwardly curved at its admission end, as shown at 6b, 6, 6d, and 69;. and 6', 6d', 6" and 6i respectively. At the right-hand end of the uppermost track 4* the cans are discharged from the tank in a manner to be later described.

'.llhe cans are advanced in the tracks 4a, 4b, etc., by a series of spaced transverse bars 7, Figs. 1 and' 2 of the drawings, extending across all four tracks and connected at their end to endless cables 8, said cables being so positioned relative to the tracks that the transverseconveyer bars 7 engage the cansA at about their middle.

The cables v8 run over sheaves 9a, 9", 9c, 9d and 9e, provided with notches 9' adapted to engage the ends of the bars 7, said sheaves being carried upon transverse shafts 10a, 10", 10, 10d and 10e journaled within the side framemem..

bers 3 and positioned concentrically with respect to the curved ends 6, 6b, 6c, 6d and 6e respectively. At the right hand ends of the lowermost and uppermost tracks 4a and 4f, the cables 8 run over notched sheaves 11a and 11f carried upon shafts 12a and 12f, the former being a drive shaft, one end of which extends through the wall of the tank and carries a pulley 13. The shaft 10e is mounted in lineally disposed slots 14 in the frame members 3 and is lineally movable therein and said shaft 10e is connected by means of journal collars 15 and cables 16, running with a weight 19, the latter operating to maintain the proper degree of tension on the conveyer cables 8 by drawing the shaft 10e toward the left as viewed in the drawings.

At one end of the tank, that is, the righthand end as viewed in the drawings, are mounted two transversely disposed rotary valve members' 2O and 21, Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings, extending across all four tracks, the valve 2O controlling the admission of cans into the tank and the valve 21 controlling the discharge of the cans therefrom. The valves are formed with radially disposed pockets 22 and 23 respectively, one for each line of cans, and adapted to receive the cans as supplied thereto. The cans 5 are brought into the sphere of action of the valve 20 by any means, as for example a track or chute 24, and as the valve 20 rotates, the endmost can within said chute 24 rolls downwardly into the pocket 22 in said valve. The'valve, rotating in the direction of the arrow, carries the can upwardly and inwardly until the position of Fig. 1 is reached, and the can rolls out on to the beginning of the lowermost can track 4, and is engaged by one of the spaced conveyer bars 7. Likewise, when the cans are brought to the end of the uppermost tracky 4f, they are directed downwardly between the d'ownw wardly turned end 25 of said track and the end wall of the tank 1, and drop into the pocket 23 in the upper valve 2l, as shown at 5f. This valve, rotating int the direction of the arrow, carries the can 5f upwardly and outwardly, allowing the same to roll out upon a discharge chute 26, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

1n order to insure the positive entrance of the cans into the tank, the valve 2O is provided with,arms 27 normally lying within recesses 28 atthe bases of the pockets 22, and

Y mounted upon a rod 29 lineally disposed within the valve member and extending beyond one end thereof, `and carryingy upon said projecting end two angularly disposed fingers 30 and 31, Fig. 3 of the drawings.

' These fingers are adapted to be engaged by stationary pins 32 and 33 respectively, rojecting inwardly from a fixed bracket 34,

Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 3, the finger 30 engages the pin 32 when the valve is positioned to receive cans into the pockets 22, thereby holding the arms 27 in their recesses 28. As the,valve revolves into the position shown in Fig. 1, the finger 31 engages the pin 33, and throws the arms 27 outwardly to eject the cans from said pockets 22.

The valves 20 and 21 are provided upon their ends with spur gears 35 and 36 respectively, adapted to mesh with each other. 1n addition, the valve 20 is provided with a m smaller gear 37, adapted to mesh with and over sheaves 17 mounted upon a shaft 18,

be driven by a larger gear 38 carried upon the drive shaft 12a. By means of these gears the two valves and the cable conveyer are driven in the proper timed relation to feed cans into the tank between each pair of adjacent conveyer bars 7, and to discharge the cans from the tankas each is advanced to the discharge valve 21.

The operation of the machine may be briefly summarized as follows: Cans, four abre/ast, are placed in the feed chute 24 by any means not shown in the drawings, and fed toward the valve 20. As said valve revolves to bring its pockets 22 into line with said feed chute, the four endmost cans 5a roll into said pockets, the arms 27 being held within the recesses 28 in the bases of said pockets by the engagement of the finger 30 with the pin 32, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The continued rotation of the valve 2O then carries. said cans 5EL upwardly and inwardly, until the position shown in Fig. 1 is reached, whereupon the engagement of the finger 31 with the pin 33 causes the arms 27 to move outwardly, to forcibly eject the cans 5n from the pockets 28, and to place said cans upon the beginning of the lowermost tracks 4, between the two conveyer bars 7 The cans are then carried along the successive tracks 4, 4", 4, 4d, 4e and 4f, by said conveyer bars 7 and finally brought down between the downwardly turned ends 25 of the upper tracks 4f and the end wall of the tank 1, and are directed into the pockets 23 of the rotary discharge valve. 21 by shoulders 25 in said downwardly' turned track portions 25, as shown at 5t in Fig. l of the drawings. The rotation of said valve 21 then carries the cans 5t out* `wardly until the position shown in Fig. 3 is reached, whereupon said cans roll out of the pockets 23 onto a discharge chute 26, from which they may be removed by any means not shown in the drawings.

It will be seen that the operation ofthe deviceis continuous and that the cans are admitted into and discharged from the cooker tankwith the least possible loss of steam. Moreover, on account of the construction of the admission valve 20, the cans are correctly and positively ositioned with respect to the conveyer bars so` there is no danger of a can becoming misplaced, and causing damage both to itself and the conveyer mechanism.

Having thus described my invention What I claim as new and desire to protect by Let ters Patent is ln a cooker, a tank having a cylindrical valve chamber formed in one Wall thereof7 said chamber having ports communicating with the exterior and the interior of said tank respectively; a cylindrical valve member rotatably mounted Within said chamber, said valve having a pocket formed therein of the contour of a can and adapted to receive a can through one of said ports and to discharge the same through the other said pocket formed in the base throughout its length With a recess; means for rotating said valve; a lineallv disposed rod mounted for oscillation Within said valve and projecting from the end thereof; an arm carried by said rod for reception in said recess Without 1 destroying the contour of said pocket and adapted to engage the can Within said pocket; a pair of oppositely disposed )fingers carried upon the projecting end of said rod; a stationary member for engagement With one of said fingers during the rotation of' said valve to move said arm to seated position Within said pocket to permit of the res ception of a can Within said pocket and a stationary member adapted for engagement by the other of said fingers during the rotation of said valve to positively actuate said 

